Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Category: Landscape

  • Tampa Riverwalk

    Tampa Riverwalk

    Last night I had the opportunity to participate in the annual KelbyOne Worldwide Photo Walk. It’s an event created by Kelby Photography and features local photo tours and instruction in communities across the globe. My group met in downtown Tampa and featured nighttime photography along the Riverwalk.

    It was a great chance to meet some new photographers and learn some different techniques and tips. It also gave me the opportunity to get to know more about where to go in downtown Tampa for future photo adventures. I have always been interested in nighttime photography because everything changes when the sun goes down and the lights come on. The colors and reflections can be striking. There are also fun possibilities to do creative things because of the longer shutter times needed for capturing photos in low light or the dark.

    The Hillsborough River runs through downtown Tampa. The Riverwalk is an area about 2.5 miles long that, since the late 1970s, has been gradually renovated into a stretch of beautiful parks and walking paths. The University of Tampa is opposite the Riverwalk on the west bank of the water. The main development through the heart of the downtown business and entertainment districts began about 15 years ago and today the Riverwalk has become a destination location for Tampa visitors.

    Plant Hall At University Of Tampa At Dusk
    Plant Hall at University of Tampa Lighted at Dusk

    Thankfully, the weather cooperated. A brief late afternoon shower brought in a cool front with lower temperatures and a wonderful breeze. While the group covered only a small section of the Riverwalk, we were given the freedom to branch out on our own. So, I ended up traveling quite a bit further for some additional photo views. It was a great evening for a hike and making some new friends. I’ve included a link to the KelbyOne website which describes the Photo Walks in much more detail.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • North Port

    North Port

    While we get ready for the start of the fall migration, we like to find some new spots to check out. Recently, at the suggestion of one of our birding friends, we took a trip to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve South in North Port, FL. The park sits along the shores of the Myakka River at a point before the river widens and joins the Peace River and flows into Charlotte Harbor by the Gulf of America.

    We arrived at the park that morning right before a thunderstorm moved by. It was a typical summer day in Florida with the storms forming over the Gulf of America and coming onshore. The storms can often create some great photo opportunities like interesting cloud formations, lightning shots, and rainbows. This day we had some good cloud and rainbow shots.

    Thunderstorm Clouds Billowing Up
    Thunderstorm Clouds Billowing Up into the Sky
    Broken Rainbow Over Myakka River
    Broken Rainbow Over the Myakka River

    While little tributaries of the river flow through the park, most of it is flat prairie and scrub land along with pine forests. There are lots of trails that are easy to hike. It seemed like a great spot to find the elusive Florida Scrub Jay. But we were on a mission to find a Brown-headed Nuthatch. We had gotten reports of sightings of these little birds at the park and decided to try and find them. While eventually identifying one by its call, we only got a brief flash of the bird as it flew off. Unfortunately … no photos.

    While going on a nice long hike, there were a few occasions to capture some images of herons and egrets fishing.

    Young Little Blue Heron Grabbing Tadpole
    Immature Little Blue Heron Grabbing a Tadpole

    See the link below for more information on Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and the Brown-headed Nuthatch.

  • Moon Over the Skyway

    Moon Over the Skyway

    This past Monday there was a full “Super” moon. A super moon occurs during the full moon’s closest approach to Earth. As luck would have it, the path of the moonrise allowed for photos of the moon between the spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It took a little planning but with some collaboration with about 15 other photographers from around the Tampa Bay area, we were able to get positioned and capture some pretty cool images.

    Super Moon Rising Above Lighted Sunshine Skyway Bridge
    Super Moon Rising Above the Lighted Sunshine Skyway Bridge

    It was a hazy evening which added to the challenge. But overall, the weather and the moon cooperated and made for some real fun. The next super moon occurs on May 26 this year.

  • Something a Little Different

    Something a Little Different

    A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to join a group of photographers on an outing sponsored by a local camera store and the Tamron lens company. We went to Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg before sunrise to take some photos of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Last year, the bridge was updated with new lighting, and it is beautiful. Unfortunately, clouds spoiled the sunrise, but the bridge was stunning anyway.

    The bridge crosses Tampa Bay on interstate 275 right before the bay flows into the Gulf of America. The bridge is over 4 miles long and is tall enough to allow cruise ships and huge cargo ships to pass underneath.

    Sunshine Skyway Bridge With Purple Lights Predawn
    Sunshine Skyway Bridge with Purple Lights Predawn
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